Crazy, Beautiful Life
by meliz875
Summary: "You can be anywhere when your life begins." Various, unrelated works of wolf pack-centered flash fiction inspired by photo prompts. Written for The Twilight Twenty-Five Challenge, Round 8. Pairings, genres and ratings will vary.
1. Storm

_****__****__****__****__****__****____**Disclaimer: **__All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

_**AN**: Hello, all. As the summary of this story states, I am participating in Round 8 of the Twilight 25 challenge. The challenge is to write 25 unrelated pieces of flash fiction (between 300-500 words) in a three-month period. I've set up a bit of a "theme" for myself, but it's a pretty loose one._

_Corresponding photo prompts will be noted on each entry. Photos can be found at thetwilight25. com (just remove the space). Thank you all for reading!_

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt:** #9

**Penname:** meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s)**: Leah/Embry

**Rating:** K+

**Word count:** 486

.

As the first drop of rain fell from a churning, darkening sky, her eyes found his across the short distance separating them.

The fading light made it hard to see his outline on the porch steps. Hands curling into fists at her sides, Leah pulled a deep breath into her lungs, thinking how appropriate the weather seemed. How it mirrored the day and everything that came with it.

She wasn't sure why she was there or what she would say to him. Only a few hours had passed since they put him in the ground - the man who had given Embry life and nothing else. The entire pack went to the funeral, and while the others watched the casket go into the dirt, Leah watched Embry.

She knew what it felt like, to lose a parent.

Still, her father had always been there. There had been no secrets, no uncertainty, and while their situations were far from the same, she felt like _she _should be there.

For Embry, should that be what he needed.

Because she still _knew_.

Releasing the air she held within, Leah finally allowed her feet to move. He looked down as she approached him. He didn't say a word as she ascended the steps, turning at the last minute. Refusing to question it as she swiftly sat next to him on the stairs.

She tried not to look, but being that close to him made it easier to see. It made it easier to tell there was another storm wreaking havoc, only it was one that didn't come with thunder. It didn't come with rain.

But still, it came. In the way his rigid frame felt next to hers. The way his hands trembled over his knees, years of rage and sadness and questions having nowhere else to go. The way he fought to catch his breath, the air leaving his lungs in rough, uneven gasps.

His body filled with questions that would never be answered.

A man losing a part of himself he possessed but never had a chance to discover.

It came, and she could feel it - could _see _him losing his grip, watching as everything that tore at his insides searched for a way out. Realizing time would be the only thing to heal it.

She didn't know what to say, but it didn't matter.

He didn't need words. Words were pointless, and she was never good at them anyway.

Taking another breath, she turned her gaze toward the trees. Watching as the heavens finally unleashed another kind of fury on the land surrounding them.

Refusing to question it as her hand reached out. As it covered his, closing her eyes and hoping it would be enough. Hearing a ragged breath leave his lungs when she felt large, warm fingers curl tightly around hers.

Leaving words out of it.

Letting him hang on, until the storm passed.

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_Review if you like. :)_


	2. Wish

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt**: #10

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing**: Quil/Claire (give it a chance!)

**Rating**: T

**Word Count**: 496

.

She told him to meet her at the wishing well.

It was a spot she loved when she was little, tucked just behind the Forks Library. She always leaned too far over the side. Quil's heart would jump in his throat before he snatched her back, reminding her more times than necessary to be careful.

He missed those days, when she was younger. When he knew what he was supposed to be to her. When there was no pressure, no expectations - both of which grew as she did. When childish lines turned into lush curves and youth was replaced with an incomparable beauty.

He loved her, more than life itself.

But he couldn't look at her like _that_.

He couldn't _love _her like that.

He couldn't _see _her any other way than the small girl who wrapped little arms around his legs, despite the way her gaze changed with time. Despite how she let her hand linger on his. Despite the pain in her eyes when he always pulled his away.

And it killed him, because he was supposed to give her what she wanted.

Instead, he gave that part of him to others, trying to forget what he saw in her eyes. Telling himself they _all _looked like that, searching for proof in the ones of those pinned between him and a mattress.

He never found it, but it didn't matter.

He _couldn't _give her that. Ever.

_His _bond was cemented in stone long before, refusing to give way beneath the demands of time.

So he stayed where he was, bending as far as he could while still refusing to move. He _couldn't _move. He'd never been able to, but he didn't want to be there. Not where he was. Not anymore.

But he couldn't go back.

Quil felt her vibrant presence next to him long before he looked up from the dark depths of the well. Still, he could feel her eyes on him. Studying him, seeing how far away he was despite being right next to her.

He smiled. No matter what, she always made him smile.

"Make a wish," he whispered, handing her the penny clasped in the hand.

She took the coin, but didn't move. Several seconds passed before he looked up, heart stilling when he saw the helpless look in her eyes. One that mirrored his own. The same one he saw staring back at him in the mirror every morning.

Claire smiled anyway, her voice barely a whisper when she spoke.

"I wish you were happy."

He closed his eyes the moment she released the coin. Not knowing what she meant when she did.

Yet somehow feeling it _everywhere _as the penny ricocheted off the well's stone walls. As it hit the water below, the ripples it caused extending far beyond the well. Stealing his breath. Feeling it somewhere else. Feeling it _inside _him.

Somehow loosening the bonds that held him in place.

Finally allowing him to move.

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_Review if you like. :)_

_I promise not ALL prompts will be so angsty!_


	3. Say

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

_**AN: **So I promised not ALL entries would be angsty. Well, not quite yet... Hope you enjoy. :)_

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt: **#1

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s): **Paul/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Word Count**: 498

.

He'd really fucked things up this time.

Standing in the doorway to their dark bedroom, Paul crossed his arms in front of his chest, insides aching in a way he'd never felt before. Eyes traveling over the curve of her hip beneath the sheet, her back turned toward him.

She'd told him to leave. She'd told him to fuck off, that she never wanted to see him again. To never come back.

Yet he did. He always came back. Every single time.

So did she.

It was what they did. He pushed. Bella pulled. Harsh words forgotten every time, swept away by heated, purposeful lips..

They were oil and water, somehow defying everything the world knew about chemistry.

But this time was different. He couldn't help but feel like this time, she wasn't going to let him back in.

_The girl at the bonfire... _

A part of him screamed to ignore her. To walk away, but a larger part leaned in. A larger part challenged himself, wanting to prove he didn't need the _other _girl. The one waiting for him at home.

Because if he needed _her_, that meant he could lose her...and he always lost the things he needed most.

The things he _loved _most. His family. All the girls before her.

They either walked away from him...

Or he pushed them away before they could.

He'd bent the bitch over the hood of his car, taking a fistful of hair between thick fingers, refusing to look in those icy blue eyes peering at him over her shoulder.

They were the wrong color.

She was the wrong girl.

Everything about it was wrong. None of it was okay.

Fuck, he loved Bella. That day, and every day before. All of her. Her soft voice. A patient, kind heart he'd fought for far too long. It didn't take what he did to see it. He'd always known.

It simply reminded him what he _couldn't _lose.

That he'd fall to his knees and beg her to stay before he let her walk away.

Which is exactly what he did when he got home. Coming clean. Telling her everything.

Leaving anyway when she asked him to, knowing that no matter how much she hated him in that moment, he hated himself more.

Still, he went back.

Still, his legs carried him across the room, hands pressing into the mattress. Crawling across the bed, laying behind her. Hearing her breath hitch. Knowing she was awake when his arm snuck across her body, eventually finding her hand.

She didn't pull. Not this time.

He closed his eyes, lips pressing destitute kisses to her shoulder. His breath leaving him when her fingers finally curled around his.

A desperate mouth whispered against her cool skin.

"Tell me what to say to make this okay again."

She took a shaky breath, and he held his. Putting it all in her hands.

Preparing to hand _himself _over to her.

_Finally._

"There's nothing you can say."

* * *

_Review if you like. :)_


	4. Follow

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**thetwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt**: #11

**Pen Name**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s)**: Bella/Embry

**Rating**: T

**Word Count**: 498

**Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts**

.

Bella's hands trembled, eyes on the empty hotel parking lot.

She had no idea where they were.

All she knew is she was somewhere between where they were going and where she wanted to be.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was anxious, listening for the sound of the shower through the open door. Knowing her mother was nowhere near finished.

Bella closed her eyes, all of it coming back. The anger. The tears. Remembering how her father had called her mother. That he'd tried everything, but nothing worked.

Her father hadn't kept Bella away from _him_.

Charlie's words.

Her mother's...

_He's no good for you, Bella. _

_You deserve a better life. To not make the same mistakes I made…_

God, they'd made the biggest possible mistake...

_If she takes you, I'll find you. _

He'd promised her.

It didn't matter.

She came home from school to find her mother loading suitcases filled with everything Bella owned into the back of a car she didn't recognize. Bella screamed. She cried, but an hour later, she was in the backseat.

He never showed up...

And she had no choice, her mother said.

Bella opened her eyes, taking a deep breath. Swallowing back tears.

Noticing the cloud of dust before the moisture could even recede.

Watching as a station wagon - one that looked too familiar - peeled into the vacant lot, tires protesting against the pavement.

Bella's heart stopped when the car screeched to a stop.

She knew that voice, calling for her to get in the car. She knew those _eyes_, wild with determination.

Somehow, apologizing for being late.

Her feet moved, and Bella fumbled through the hotel room door, blood buzzing with adrenaline as she grabbed her suitcase from the floor. As she shot one last glance toward the bathroom.

Noticing the water had stopped running...

She ran, losing track of her steps. He pushed open the door and she tumbled into the seat. Smelling the dust, the car was already moving by the time she pulled the door closed.

Wind whipping her hair, she could still see those eyes, peering at her from the driver's seat.

It _wasn't _a mistake. It was _worth _the trouble. There _was _no better way.

She'd found the good she needed, hidden away from the rest of the world but buried deep within a pair of ebony eyes that could see straight to her soul.

The tears came anyway.

"You came," she whispered breathlessly.

Embry's hand stretched out to find her, one finger tracing a small circle on her stomach, just below her belly button.

"I had to come get my girls."

Bella leaned across the distance separating them, pushing her lips against his. Not caring about the road, winding her fingers through his hair. Trying to pull him as close as she could.

It didn't matter how he'd found her or who might follow. It didn't matter where they were going.

She had what she needed.

And she would follow _him_ anywhere.

* * *

_Review if you like. :)_


	5. Sacrifices

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt**: #2

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s)**: Bella/Jacob

**Rating**: T

**Word count**: 499

**Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts**

.

Bringing her arm up to her face, Bella hastily wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve.

Trying to wipe the hot, salty tears from her cheeks.

She sat on the floor at the foot of their bed, dozens of pictures spread out in front of her. Pictures of a person that used to be her. Of a life she no longer had.

It was buried beneath this thing most people called _real _life, until she dug through the closet, in search of her old winter coat. She didn't have time to shop for a new one, not when so many other things pulled at her attention. Frankly, they didn't have money for it, not when there were bills to be paid. When there were mouths to feed.

She'd breathed a sigh of relief when she found the coat near the back of the closet. When she pulled it out, revealing the old shoe box resting on a shelf just behind it.

She knew what was inside it. Proof of years gone by. A recollection of a single summer she spent in the back of decades-old car with no air conditioning, traveling the backroads, seeing the country with two of her best friends.

Three, if she included _him_.

Bella ran her fingers lightly over one photo of just the two of them, making stupid faces for the camera while they stood in front of the World's Largest Frying Pan.

She smiled.

_Jacob_.

He'd been there her entire life, but she swore she loved him even longer.

But summer ended, and so did they. He went off to college and she stayed behind to take care of her sick father. He wrote, but the letters dwindled right along with the phone calls. His visits were few and far between.

Jacob made a run for it.

Bella made sacrifices.

She made sacrifices for her father. By the time he passed away, she made them for the man she could hear downstairs. For the little ears he was scolding. She loved them more than her own life, and she could never regret them. Ever.

But seeing the photos made her wish in a wild kind of way what a life without sacrifices would have been like.

"Bella!"

Wiping her eyes one last time, Bella scooped up the photos, dumping them into the box before roughly shoving it under the bed. She'd tuck them away later.

Hoping she could put the memories away just as easily.

Her husband was at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. Taking a deep breath, she moved silently to the refrigerator, knowing dinner and bath time and bed would fill the rest of her night.

Still, she felt empty. More in that moment than she had in a long time.

"Heard a rumor down at the lumberyard this morning."

"Yeah?" Bella robotically grabbed a package of chicken from the fridge.

"Jacob Black's coming back to town."

Bella's grip on the chicken tightened.

And suddenly, she was filled.

* * *

_AN: Thanks to all who reviewed the last prompt! Will be making my rounds very soon to say thanks individually._

_Also, make sure you go check out my girls pmu and TisTaiOre, friends and fellow wolf writers who are doing this challenge as well. Show them some love!_

_Finally...review if you like. ;)_


	6. Lucky

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt**: #17

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s)**: Quil/Bella

**Rating**: M

**Word count**: 493

**Photo prompts can be found here: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts**

.

Quil was the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.

Steel shelving pressed roughly into his back and tiny, cold hands pushed under his shirt. Delicate fingers traced the lines on his stomach, and hot, rosy lips covered his. Taking what she wanted from him in some back room where anyone could walk in.

Fuck, let them see - he didn't care. He would stay here forever, give her everything. All she had to do was fucking ask and it would be hers.

He and the guys went to the roller rink in Port Angeles almost every weekend, and every weekend, he watched her. She worked there, and would lean on the counter where they handed out skates, chin propped on her hand as she chewed on her lower lip.

Sometimes, he caught her watching him and it was all he could fucking do not to fall on his ass in those cheap roller skates that pinched the shit out of his feet.

_Bella Swan..._

Fuck, she was beautiful. And he had no idea why - why he was the one she smiled at when he walked to the counter, and why she let her eyes rake up and down his body.

She was so out of his league, in every possible way.

He'd seen her before. She lived in Forks. They didn't go to the same school, but she spent a lot of time on the reservation sitting on the beach. Earbuds in her ears, slender endless legs covered by skinny jeans that hugged her in all the right places, her Atari t-shirt that made the gamer in Quil blow his load right there. Toes moved to a silent beat as those soul-stealing brown eyes watched the waves meet the shore.

Like a creepy fucking stalker, he watched her there, too.

He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't have any game - not one fucking ounce of it.

One day, he tried to say hi. He walked by, _too _slowly until she looked up, pulling one earbud out and eyeing him expectantly.

He'd practiced a million fucking things to say but none of it came out, except the last and final thing he _wanted_ to say.

"I like your shirt."

He blew it. He blew it hard, and it was even harder to face her at the roller rink when the lace on his skate broke and he was forced to ask her for a new one.

But when he reached the counter, she just stared at him, pulling that fucking lip in between her teeth. Smiling a smile that almost made him fall to his knees in front of her.

Leaning forward, she traced one finger down his chest. Stealing the fucking breath from his lungs.

He was a pussy, but he didn't care. He'd fucking _worship _her, if that's what she wanted.

Because she whispered the _only _thing he wanted to hear.

"I like your shirt, too."

* * *

_Review if you like. :)_


	7. Snowstorm

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt: **#15

**Penname:** meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s):** Bella/Embry

**Rating: **M

**Word count: **496

**Photo prompts can be found here: **thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

.

Bella still couldn't believe it.

Closing her eyes, she listened for the faint sounds of him moving in the kitchen. She had no idea how things could have possibly worked out this way the first time she'd come home. After how long it had been...

But only she'd have the kind of luck where a snowstorm would stall her car on one of Clallam County's backroads.

The kind where _he _was the person to drive by first. To offer her help. To take her to his place to wait for her dad and the tow truck.

"So, I don't have coffee. Hope hot chocolate works."

Bella glanced up. Embry stood over her, giving her a kind, easy smile as he offered her the mug. As she tried to control the shaking in her hands when she reached up to take it.

"Thanks," she whispered, the words barely making it out.

Fuck, it had been years. It shouldn't have affected her this much...

Because it had only been one night. One night so many years ago.

The night Jacob imprinted.

Bella had been angry, devastated.

_Vulnerable_.

And Embry - his kind eyes and all the words she needed to hear in that moment - had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Still, no matter what spurred it, she had never quite been able to forget the gentleness of his touch. The tender way he kissed her. How he pulled back every time she pushed, soothing her in his own way. There had been nothing else quite like it, not since...

He had left a mark on her soul, whether she liked it or not.

She hadn't come back for this. She hadn't come back for him - or for Jacob, for that matter. There was an opportunity at the new library in Port Angeles. One despite all the ghosts and pain that lived amongst the trees of this place. The place she once called home.

Still, she hadn't suspected something like this to happen so soon.

She hadn't expected it to unhinge her so much. To feel every nerve in her body misfiring, caused by the way Embry watched her when he sank onto the couch directly across the coffee table from where was. As she tried to think of what to say.

Still, she didn't speak, letting her eyes appraise him instead, noticing how time added a firmness to his features. His strong jaw, those full lips, the way those ebony eyes regarded her. Waiting for her to speak despite the silence.

_Remembering how it sounded when those lips breathed her name…_

Looking down, Bella shook her head. Smiling at the marshmallows he'd put in her hot chocolate. Knowing she couldn't really bring any of it up. Knowing anything she'd probably say wouldn't be right.

So she took a breath, peering up at him. Catching his smile, the light from the fireplace dancing across his face.

"It's really good to see you, Embry."

* * *

_AN: Damn these two... *shakes fist*_

_Review if you like :)_


	8. Forget

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt**: #14

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s)**: Leah/Sam

**Rating**: M

**Word count**: 473

**Photo prompts can be found here**: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

.

She paid no mind to the loud crash the stack of books made when she swept it from the shelf. When every single one cascaded to the floor.

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but this.

She had to fucking find it.

Leah trained frenzied eyes on the rest of the bookshelf, the side she kept a few stray CDs. Knowing it was her best bet. Knowing it had to be in there, considering she couldn't find it anywhere else.

She grabbed the stack of plastic cases, her gaze raking over the top one. Heedlessly throwing it to the floor when she realized it wasn't the right one. The next one followed suit, each one hitting the hardwood a little harder than the last.

Each one falling victim to a rage - a devastation - she hadn't really allowed herself to feel. Not yet.

He had left. Sam had left her. He had sent her on her way with nothing but a meaningless apology, a turn of his back, and eyes that couldn't bear to look directly into hers.

She fucking hated him.

But not as much as she hated how she was already starting to forget - all the good things she wanted to hang onto. All the memories. All the moments that weren't meant to be obscured by some fairy tale ending that didn't include her.

Breathless and empty, she remembered the CD. The one he made for her after he graduated high school. One filled with songs, each one he claimed reminded him of her somehow. Of moments throughout their relationship.

Once she remembered, it was all she could hear...the lyrics to them keeping time to silence pulsing in her ears…

_Don't anyone wake me, if it's just a dream. Cause she's the best thing, ever happened to me._

The first song they ever danced to…

_It seems farther than ever before. Oh no, I need you so much closer._

The night she pulled him into the backseat of his mom's car, taking what she wanted from him. Giving him a piece of her no one else would ever possess...

_And if all we've got, is what no one can break, I know I love you, if that's all we can take._

The day he slipped that ring on her finger. Before he took it back. When it had meant something to him. To her...

Fuck, she didn't want to forget, even if it _did _break.

The reasons it hurt as bad as it did.

But when she reached the last CD in her hands, realizing it wasn't the one she was looking for, the last piece of her heart left unbroken shattered into a hundred tiny pieces.

She never found the CD.

Yet somehow, the memories never faded. They never died. They never went away.

And Leah never forgot.

* * *

_AN: :(_

_Review if you like._


	9. Promise

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Promp**t: #13

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s)**: Bella/Jacob

**Rating**: K

**Word count**: 498

**Photo prompts can be found here**: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

.

Jacob wasn't supposed to be doing this for her.

Still, Bella couldn't move. She sat on the edge of her bed, legs tucked tightly beneath her, just watching him. Taking in every single facet of him as he moved fluidly around her bedroom. Putting the last of her picture frames in her suitcase. Tucking them in carefully before zipping it up. Before sitting it on the floor and looking up at her, lungs heaving a huge, resigned sigh.

He wasn't supposed to be doing it, but she was letting him. Because if she packed her things, it would be too real. It would mean she was leaving for college and leaving Jacob behind. Maybe not indefinitely but enough for it to matter.

Enough for it to hurt like hell.

The short time they had together before this moment hadn't been long enough. There weren't enough kisses, not enough hugs. Not enough of Jacob's huge smiles for Bella to take with her. Not enough to get her through the days she'd spend without him before Thanksgiving break, when she'd see him again.

In place of it, there were too many what-ifs. What if he got tired of waiting? What if he found someone else? What if he imprinted while she gone?

There were too many of them, but Bella kept them inside, not wanting to ruin this. Not wanting to jeopardize the last few moments they had.

Instead, she reached up, swiping a stray bit of moisture from her eyes.

"Bells," Jake whispered softly, walking toward her. "It'll be okay."

She nodded, a part of her not entirely convinced. "I know."

Jacob sighed. "I got you something," he murmured, sinking onto the bed beside her. Digging in his jeans pocket as Bella watched him curiously. "Something else to take with you…"

Bella held her breath, watching as his fingers re-emerged. Seeing what they carried.

All the air leaving her when she saw a tiny, silver ring clasped between his thumb and index finger.

Bella's eyes bulged. "Jake…" she breathed.

She wanted a lot of things, but she did _not _want this.

"No. Jake, absolutely not…"

But Jacob only laughed.

"Bells, honey...shut up a minute and listen."

Bella's mouth closed with a snap, but her heart kept pounding.

Jacob took a deep breath. "It took me forever to save up for this, but I bought it for you...as a promise." He turned toward her, pulling his knee up on the bed. "I know you're freaking out right now, but I want you to know...I want you to have a reminder when you go, that's always with you, so you remember no matter what, Bells...I'll be waiting when you come home."

She didn't protest when he slipped it on her right ring finger.

A tiny piece of him that somehow managed to sweep away everything she'd worried about in the first place. Making it a little bit more bearable.

Promising her no matter what, they'd be okay.

* * *

_AN: Thank you to everyone who's reviewed the last few prompts. So sorry I haven't had a chance to reach out and thank you personally. Will be going back and doing that very soon! I appreciate your feedback oh so much._

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed the little angst break. Review if you like. :)_


	10. Worry

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Prompt**: #20

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s**): Bella/Jacob (told by Sarah Black)

**Rating**: K

**Word coun**t: 494

**Photo prompts can be found here**: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

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Sarah Black was a worrier.

She always was, but this worried her more than anything.

Standing outside Jacob's bedroom door, she leaned back against the wall. Holding her breath, she listened to the hushed whispers and giggles coming from beneath a threadbare sheet her precocious eight-year-old son had set up. A fort, he called it - one he built with the help of a certain quiet, ten-year-old girl who mostly just supervised.

That wasn't what made Sarah worry.

It had always been this way. Bella Swan was a summer fixture in the Black house since before she could talk, her presence a product of the friendship between her father and Sarah's husband. The limitedness of Bella's time there one of her flighty mother who grew restless and bored with the simple life both Charlie and Forks offered her. She went where the wind took her, taking the innocent little girl with her.

But every summer Bella was there - all day, while Charlie worked. For the first few days, she'd hang around Sarah - sticking close, never speaking a word. Sarah would sneak her a cookie or two when no one was looking, because it always took a little while for Bella to smile.

She always looked that way when she came home from Arizona - like she was remembering what it was like to have a family. Sarah loved Bella as much as she loved her own daughters, sometimes giving her even more on days she could, hoping the little girl could take it with her when she left.

_That _wasn't what worried her, even though it should have.

What worried Sarah was how _her _shadow - the one she had in Bella Swan - always had one of her own.

Sarah's devout little boy.

What worried her were how his big black eyes watched the little girl. The way he followed her. The way he stuck by her as she grew, even when her summer visits grew shorter. When she tried telling him she didn't want to play with a "little kid" anymore.

What worried her was how it never mattered to Jacob. How it never mattered to Bella, not in the end. She ended up in his room anyway, reading a book as Jacob tugged and twisted her ponytail around his stubby fingers.

Bella always came back, but in the end, she always left too.

Sarah knew it wasn't the girl's fault, but at the end of every summer, Jacob took it a little harder. His smile took a little longer to return.

She didn't know why it worried her, but it always did.

More so than ever when moments earlier she'd went to check on them. When she found the door already open, hearing Jacob tell Bella he had a secret. How Sarah held her breath when the two shadows leaned in and Sarah saw her son put his hand up to his mouth.

"I think I love you, Bells…"

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_AN: Review if you like. :)_


	11. Jump

**__****__****__****__****__****__****____****Disclaimer: **_All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

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_AN: I'm apologizing for this one in advance, you guys...seriously. There's a little bit of tragedy mixed into this, and I think it might hurt a little. Really, really hope you check it out though. It could be my favorite to date. _

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**The Twilight Twenty-Five**

**TheTwilight25 dot com**

**Promp**t: #21

**Penname**: meliz875

**Pairing/Character(s)**: Bella/Quil

**Rating**: T

**Word count**: 498

**Photo prompts can be found here**: thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

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"Okay, so just imagine the water is a big tub of chocolate syrup…"

Bella lowered her sunglasses to watch her four-year-old daughter jumping excitedly on short, chubby legs. She'd waded into the water, but that was as far as she went.

Now, she was contemplating the jump, but thinking better of it each time she took a step closer to edge.

Shifting her gaze, Bella's scanned the beach, seeing all the faces she knew. Jacob, Sam, Paul. All the imprints. Feeling the tightness that never really went away, remembering who was missing.

Bella closed her eyes until it passed, opening them a second later. Feeling a sudden lightness inside her when she found Quil, standing chest-deep in water, trying to prompt her soft-spoken, cautious little girl off the dock.

"Only Quil would try to rationalize with a toddler..."

Bella caught Leah's stare before the other woman tipped her head back, letting the rare sunshine spill over her copper skin.

Chuckling, Bella looked back to her now squealing daughter. "I don't think he's gonna get her to jump."

Leah made a noise of dissent. "He will, even if he has to stay in that water all fucking day to do it." She sighed. "He'd do just about anything for that kid. You know that, right?"

Releasing a heavy breath, Bella knew Leah was right.

It had been three years since a group of nomad vampires crossed into Quileute territory. There were at least a dozen of them, catching the pack off guard. They'd fought, eventually driving the leeches off their land, but the pack paid a heavy price for the battle they fought.

The price was the person missing. Her daughter's father. Someone who still held the largest piece of Bella's heart.

It took Bella longer than it should have to remember to move after Embry was gone. She fought Quil the first time he showed up, and the time after that, until the day he took her by the shoulders, shaking her. Silencing her protests.

"I'm not trying to replace him, Bella," he'd said. "But I promised him...that I'd be there for her...and for you."

Her daughter adored her uncle Quil, and her short life was filled with moments like this. He was always there, sitting on the sidelines at her tumbling class. Making sandcastles. Letting her win every game of Chutes and Ladders.

The first time Bella felt an unfamiliar warmth was the day Quil showed up with pink fingernails. He shrugged knowingly at her, but all Bella could do was smile.

He never replaced what they lost, but he filled that void with something else. Something they both needed.

"He'd do just about anything for you too…"

Bella felt that warmth again, hearing Leah's voice next to her.

The moment her daughter _finally _jumped. When Bella's heart swelled with pride and a _hope _she hadn't felt in so long.

And Bella couldn't help but think...

Maybe it was time she made that jump, too.

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_AN: I am an emotional puddle on the floor..._

_Review if you like. :)_


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